Blind National Chess Championship: The 16th All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) organized National Chess Championship for the Blind at Mira Road, Mumbai. 56 players from all over India participated in this championship. Kishan Gangoli of Karnataka won the title. He has won this championship for the 7th time.
Only the players who performed better in the regional chess tournament were selected in this championship. Kishan Gangoli of Karnataka secured the first position in the tournament with 7.5 points. After this, Aryan Joshi of Maharashtra and Soundarya Kumar Pradhan of Odisha got 7-7 marks. Ashwin Makwana and Darpan Inani of Gujarat got 6.5 marks each. Somender BL of Delhi got 6 marks.
Cash award of Rs 1 lakh
These winners were awarded a total cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and trophy by the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB). Explain that the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) was established in 1997 to promote the game of chess among the blind in India. AICFB is a non-profit organization affiliated to the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA).
AICFB lauds the players
Expressing his gratitude on the prize distribution program, Dr. Charudutt Jadhav, President of All India Chess Federation of the Blind (AICFB) and International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), said, "We are very proud of all those players who have worked hard and won. I congratulate him a lot that he has made his mark at the national level. After this we will involve in preparing national winners for World Championships and Asian Para Games of 2023 and prepare ourselves for all the various tournaments in coming future.
Plans for the future were also shared
He further said, "Lastly we are taking every possible initiative to promote chess in schools for the blind. Under the program Udaan, chess academies are started in every state. Our goals can be achieved with the support of stakeholders and government organizations. AICFB is coming up with various initiatives. Includes mobile software for the blind to learn, play and analyze chess independently. Also AICFB is coming up with an online tournament platform to make it possible for visually impaired people to experience the tournament sitting at their homes."
Attempt to send Indian team to WCC
He said, "We will form an Indian team for the upcoming World Chess Championship, which will go to the tournament to be held in Greece in the month of October. In addition, twelve more sportspersons in the categories of totally blind (B1) and partially blind (B2 and B3) will be selected for the upcoming Asian Para Games to be held in Hangzhou, China in October.
Kishan Gangoli said – I am very happy
Champion Kishan Gangoli told ABP News, "I am very happy that I have won the National Championship for the 7th time. Last year I didn’t win, but I was selected for second place. It is a proud moment for me and my family." Talking about his preparation for the Asian and World Chess Championship, he said, "I will try my best for all the future tournaments and take the game of chess forward."
What did Aryan Joshi say?
Aryan Joshi, who won the second position, said, "I got second place in the tournament. It was tough because after a few rounds I was trailing. I had to win the last two rounds and the opponents were very strong. However, somehow I managed to win and got selected for the Asian Games and World Championship. It’s a great feeling and I’m really looking forward to representing India in the tournament. I will start preparing for many more medals for the country in the coming future."
Informed about further preparations
Talking about how he will prepare himself for the next round, he said, "Raghunandan Gokhale sir is my coach and he trains me really well and will continue to get coaching from him. My MBA program will start in July 2023 and I may get less time for chess but I will give my best in competition and keep improving for all future games."